More risk Spain will ask for more aid: Moody's analyst

June 13, 2012|Reuters

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Spain could ask for more international aid if a bank bailout proves insufficient, a sovereign analyst from Moody's Investors Service said on Wednesday, the same day the agency slashed the country's rating to Baa3, its lowest investment grade.

"We do see an increasing risk of Spain needing to ask for more support in the coming months or in the coming years," said Kathrin Muehlbronner, a Moody's analyst in London.

"In our view that's (the aid request) not a sign of strength, that's a sign of weakness," Muehlbronner said, noting the Spanish government's growing dependence on its domestic banks as buyers of sovereign debt.